Clan of the Air
by Paths Crossing
Summary: A newcomer has arrived in by the lake, crashing in the ThunderClan territory, injured. She is a cat from a Clan... a cat with wings.
1. Lost

_A/N: I, obviously, do not own "Warriors". Songpaw, Airclan, and any OCs are mine._

Chapter One

Whispers spread through the forest. Whispers of strange happenings, not very important, not dangerous or threatening, just intriguing. Prey remains found here, a strange scent with it. Herbs gone missing, clearly picked or pulled up, with no trace of the culprit but the same strange scent. And strangest of all, the shadowy shapes that were now often seen swooping through the skies. The clans passed them off as nothing more than strange new birds, never having managed to get close enough to really see them.

--

The dark shape began to plummet towards the ground, branches tugging at its fur, breaking under its weight. Feebly, it tried to escape the thrashing tangle, beating one of the dark wings on its back, the other hanging limp. It collided with the ground, and pain shot through the feathered limb. Blue eyes went wide with panic, her wing had never failed her before, this couldn't be happening!

She turned her head to the sky, but there was no sign of her companions.

"Help!" She cried, desperation creeping into her voice. "Where are you? Help! Hello? Help…"

--

Morning.

Shivering, the strange cat awoke. Frost blanketed the ground, giving the forest a peaceful look. Her limbs were stiff and sore, her injured wing remained limply trailing along the ground. She raised her head, trying to scent prey.

A sudden weight hit her in the back. She yowled in surprise and pain as it sunk in its claws, and knocked her broken wing. She lashed out with her good wing, catching the newcomer off guard, and knocking them lose. She sprung away, and whirled to face her attacker.

A young cat, a bit larger than her, was pulling himself upright. Three more cats were behind him, and another dashed forward.

"Lionblaze! Stop!" She cried.

Obviously surprised, the cat turned.

"Don't you think Firestar will want to question this cat? What are you attacking her for?"

"She invaded our territory! She was going to steal prey!"

"Hollyleaf! Lionblaze!" A ginger she cat padded forward, she lowered her voice, but the winged cat still heard. "We don't even know _what_ she is. We'll take her to Firestar, and from there, it's up to him." Facing the newcomer, she motioned with her tail for her to follow.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Er… Songpaw."

The black she-cat called Hollyleaf turned again to face Songpaw, surprise in her eyes. "You're from a Clan?!" She yelped.

Confused, Songpaw nodded. Could these strange cats also be Clan cats? That was odd… she thought all warriors had wings.

"Come on! Hurry up!" This was the tom who had attacked her, Lionblaze. "We need to get her to Firestar!"

Suddenly, Songpaw realized something. To these cats, she was mutated and she was now… a prisoner.

_A/N: Sorry for it being so short. Did you like it? I hope it's not to rushed._


	2. Captive

_A/N: Greetings, my loyal readers! (Heh, like I'm even far enough in to have "loyal readers". Stop kidding yourself, Paths) I've decided to update. I'll try to make this chapter longer, but I can make no promises. I also re-read the other chapter and noticed it kinda stank, so I tried to make this one better._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, it belongs to the marvelous Erin Hunters. I own Airclan, Songpaw, and any OCs, blah, blah, blah, all that jazz._

Chapter Two

Wing dragging a trail through the frosty grass, Songpaw plodded sadly along after strange cats that held her captive. After her initial realization of being a prisoner, the enormity of being taken away from her clan finally hit her. What if she never saw her littermate, mentor, or mother again? She knew that they would look for her, but would they know where to look? She had been out alone, and for all they knew, could have flown off in any direction. It was also impossible to leave a scent trail through the air, what with the ever-changing winds. Her chances of escape were minimal; she had seen how her captors could fight. Gloomily, she reflected that they should teach AirClan apprentices how to fight an enemy on the ground, instead of taking wing and fleeing.

Vaguely, she became aware that the scent of her captors seemed to grow stronger, as though they passed through this area more frequently. Realizing that they must at last be reaching their camp, she felt a volcano of butterflies erupt in her stomach. What would happen? Would she be kept prisoner, hidden away, until her Clan left? She shuddered at the thought. She had to get away; she just _had_ to convince these strangers that she was no threat.

She felt the gazes of many cats sweeping her pelt as she entered through the tunnel, which seemed to be protected my thorns. She heard curious an angry whispers. Which then rose to normal voices, which then rose to shouts.

"Prey-theif!"

"Intruder!"

"Drive her off!"

"She doesn't belong here!"

"Mutant!"

The cats who had found her in the forest directed her over to a wall, instructing her to stay there. She crouched nervously, eyes wide and ears flattening, watching the crowd of cats gathering in the open space watching her. There was open hostility in their gazes and their voices, only serving to make her more nervous. Now more than ever, she wished she had not gone off to hunt on her own.

The rattle of rocks falling alerted her to the two cats coming down from the high ledge. One was a cat from the patrol that had captured her, and the other a flame-colored tom, whom she assumed to be the leader.

The cats became quiet as they waited for him to speak.

--

The thrum of wings stirring the air announced the return of the second search party sent out for the missing apprentice. Hope blooming in her chest, the she-cat darted away from the makeshift nursery, where her second litter of kits slept, to meet them.

"Did you find her?" She asked anxiously.

One look from the warrior leading the patrol, her daughter's mentor, Talonpelt, told her all she needed to know. Her face fell, and the hope left her. Not even waiting for a reply, she turned and padded back over to the nursery.

"Well?"

Grasswing, the heavily pregnant queen whom Sparkflame, Songpaw's mother, shared the nursery with was lying in the corner, looking expectantly and Sparkflame. Sadly, she shook her head. It felt like driving another thorn through her heart. She lay down in her nest, and her two kits, Applekit and Flowerkit, began to suckle.

_A/N: -squirms nervously- Okay, so that wasn't much longer, but my inspiration for this chapter ran out. I'll try to update soon. Oh, by the way, here is the allegiance list for AirClan. (I'm not listing their coloration and stuff, only their gender.)_

Leader: Volestar- she-cat

Deputy: Fishclaw- tom

Medicine Cat: Moondapple- she-cat (Apprentice, Waterpaw)

Warriors

Sparrowflight: she-cat

Scarclaw: tom (Apprentice, Rockpaw)

Talonpelt: tom (Apprentice, Songpaw)

Dovefeather: she-cat

Addertooth: tom

Icepool: she-cat

Streamflower: she-cat (Apprentice, Wolfpaw)

Pebbletail- tom

Thornfur- tom

Pinewing- she-cat

Apprentices

Waterpaw- she-cat

Rockpaw- tom

Songpaw- she-cat

Wolfpaw- tom

Queens

Grasswing: (expecting Scarclaw's kits)

Sparkflame: (Mother of Songpaw, Waterpaw, Applekit, and Flowerkit


	3. The Horror of the Past

_A/N: Eh heh…. Sorry for taking so long to update…. Been kinda busy… Please don't kill me!_

_On a happier note… people like my story! YAY! Thanks to all the awesome people who reviewed!_

_Disclaimer: Noooo, I'm Erin Hunter. Actually –le gasp- I'm not. So, that means I own nothing except for Songpaw and all of Airclan, as well as anyplace/cat you don't recognize from the books._

Chapter Three

Night lay thick on the forest. The chill of the rapidly approaching leaf-bare was warded off for the cats sleeping peacefully in the den, their body heat making it warm and comfortable. But for the single apprentice lying in a makeshift prison, a small crevice in the wall, with a barrier of thorns, there was no such comfort.

Songpaw was lying as close as she could to the prickly brambles completing her prison, staring at the sky, hoping to see the shape of a winged cat approaching. She tried pushing the negative thought that they would never see her to the back of her mind, keeping her silent vigil all throughout the night. It was only as dawns first rays of light were peeking over the horizon that she finally fell asleep.

--

It was the scent of fresh-kill that finally woke her. A small mouse lay near her, and as hungry as she was, she forced herself to eat only half. She didn't know when she would be fed again.

Taking advantage of the light slanting through the thorns, she observed her prison. It was relatively small, with a slanting ceiling, defeating any chance of climbing out. Grass covered the ground, with moss (though not nearly enough to make a nest) lining the wall. She shifted for a better view out into the clearing, and a jolt of pain swept up her wing. She prodded it with her paw to reassure herself that it was not broken, merely sprained.

Songpaw curled up again on the hard floor of her prison, lying as far into the back as she could. She didn't want to hear cats going about their normal, daily lives, a constant reminder of the fact that she might never experience that sort of peace again.

--

Sleep took a long time in coming, but when it finally did, it was fitful and disturbed by nightmares. She found herself traveling back to a time that she had done her level best to push to the farthest corner of her memory, the time when AirClan was driven from their home.

_The tortured screams of dying cats rang around the clearing. Blood stained the dirt red, drying into puddles colored a revolting brown. The monster roared, half a scream of rage, half the call of triumph. It knew these puny cats couldn't fight it, and were loath to leave when their comrades could not follow. _

_The rancid smell of death stung Songpaw's throat as she bolted from her hiding place, narrowly dodging the rain of rocks that came crashing down. She stumbled over a heap of stiff cream-colored fur, matted with blood. She didn't look back, closing her eyes as she continued to run. She didn't want to see yet another of her clanmates dead upon the ground, eyes fixed in a glassy stare a tortured world that they would never see again._

_She crashed headlong into the blue-gray fur of her sister, Waterpaw. They huddled together, eyes wide, frozen by fright as the monster advanced towards them. They would have died there, had not Songpaw's mentor, Talonpelt, knocked them out of the way, dodging the monster himself at the last possible moment._

_The monster roared in frustration as yet another kill was torn from its grasp. Its lust for the blood of the cats could never by sastisfied._

_Volestar took one last look at the destroyed camp, and the ravaged bodies of warriors, apprentices, even kits, and made the hardest decision she had ever made in her life._

"_Run! Go! Every cat, get out!"_

_And with that order, every single cat still possessing the ability to fly fled into the dark sky, their last hope for escape._

_And those who couldn't…._

_Died._

Songpaw woke with a start, breath coming in ragged gasps. It was only moonhigh, but Songpaw did not dare to sleep again, to terrified of returning to the world of dreams over which she had no control.

_A/N: Well, a bit more insight into the life of AirClan before they came to the lake, and the chapter is a teeny bit longer. I seem to be better writing the scary death sequences. Oh well._

_See the button in the corner? It's calling you. It wants to know what you thought of this chapter. _


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